20000415 BittenByTheDogs
Bitten by the Dogs of War Role Call Kill'Dar 9th/3rd Elf Wizard/Fighter Rick DiRicco Colin 9th Human Fighter Jim Yonemura Kieran 7th/4th Half-Elf Cleric/Wizard Ray Chiang Ander 6th Human Fighter Matt Miller Grackle 6th/5th Half-Elf Fighter/Rogue Mark Whisler Prince Donner 6th/5rd Human Fighter/Wizard John Speck Travian 8th Human Paladin Robert Giedt Fingle 3rd/7th Gnome Cleric/Wizard Richard Jacobsen Session Summary Looking southeast over the hill, the party can see large numbers of troops moving through the outer city. Some, perhaps half, are moving towards the road. The rest are converging directly on the inner city. It looks like it will take some time, but the bees nest has definitely been stirred up. Looking inward over the inner city, it appears as though there are several groups of trolls, orogs, and orcs gathering. The group contemplates various plans for sallying forth from the gatehouse into the inner city, both with and without the help of the Black Lions currently stationed at the gatehouse. Donner goes to talk to the leader of the advance force. Capt. Tarin: ...and keep those archers suppressed! (turning to Donner) Yes, your highness? Donner: Hey, we're thinking about going after some of the groups forming in the city. Would you be willing to send about 30 of your guys with us? Capt. Tarin: I'm under orders to hold this gatehouse until relieved. I can do it with fifty men (he eyes the giants and war trolls approaching from the inner city)...but not with twenty. Donner looks at the closest group of enemies gathering. It is difficult to tell how many groups are forming in the plazas and courtyards of the inner city due to the high density of multi-story structures. The group argues for a while about how to proceed. It is unclear if things would be best served by going out and disrupting some of the forces gathering in the inner city. Donner: I had one bad thought, there may be archers in those buildings. If so, that could be a problem for us. Party: (Continues to argue the best course of action) Kieran: I've got a solution. Kieran pulls out the Deck of Fate and performs an Augury for going out after the nearest enemy group. Kieran has gotten proficient at reading the cards and they appear to be saying "defeat gilded by glory". The group decides not to go into the inner city. Travian borrows Grackle's spyglass and looks at one of the two smaller groups of troops. It appears that there are between 12 and 20 large figures--each appears large enough to pick up a horse and throw it. They are all armed and armored. There are three ettins and at least four larger than the ettins. Another group appears to mainly contain war trolls. There appear to be several, but it is difficult to see. Travian estimates that there are at least six of them. Scattered in the plaza nearby, there is definitely a crowd of orcs. The groups of giants and trolls, being fewer in number, seem likely to complete their muster soon and head for the gatehouse. Meanwhile, the main body of the Black Lions (some 945 veteran troops) approaches, under some harassing fire from the walls of the inner city. It appears they will make it to the gatehouse, but it is unclear to the party what the tactical situation at the gatehouse will be by the time they arrive. Donner contemplates several actions for delaying the forces in the inner city. He has some misgivings about setting fire to parts of the city, since the city presumably contains some civilians. Donner: Hey Tarin, what are your thoughts on using fire? Capt. Tarin: Each man carries at least one flask of volatile oil and the means of setting it alight. We fully intend to use this during our battle with the trolls. (shrugs) The city may suffer, but we intend to win. Kieran: Hmmm...there's a lot of trouble brewing out there. There should be something we can do. Capt. Tarin: In my opinion, we haven't lost the element of surprise yet. That's why we attacked by stealth, after all. Don't assume the enemy knows what's going on here at the gatehouse. Right now, we look like orcs up here. The group decides to watch what's going on both inside and outside the walls of the inner city. As the group watches, the orcs approaching the gatehouse are shot by Capt. Tarin's men. Ander and Kieran notice the quivers on downed orcs are vanishing. A few minutes later, a heap of quivers clatters to the ground atop the gatehouse. Apparently, there are invisible troops gathering the extra quivers off the orc bodies. Capt. Tarin: (Sees them staring at the quivers; shrugs) If we're going to hold this position, we'll need ammunition. Looking outside the wall, it appears as though the bulk of the main army is encountering larger pockets (around 20) of orcs. As expected, their march toward the inner city will be a fighting retreat. Due to the pressure, they have begun moving towards the inner city ahead of schedule. From the inner city, it appears the groups or giants and trolls are traveling along the road towards the gatehouse. Each of the two larger groups forming nearby, composed of orogs and a few larger creatures, appear to be nearly a thousand strong now. Kill'Dar: Why don't we go out and wait in ambush for the groups heading towards the gatehouse? After they hit the gatehouse, we come up behind them. Capt. Tarin: If they're not throwing boulders, that tells me that they think that the orcs still hold this place. Kill'Dar: Yeah, but we can get into a flanking position on any groups attacking here. Kieran: If we wait for the forces to hit the gatehouse, we probably won't want to fight any forces attacking the walls, because there will be too many for us to handle and without the protection of the gatehouse. Capt. Tarin: Defending a fortified position generally doesn't call for a flanking maneuver. More orcs appear to be getting shot off the walls by Capt. Tarin's men. The first large group of orcs have moved to the wall and are swarming up the scaffolding and ladders which line the inside of the city walls. Some of them appear to be larger than normal. There are a few groups of orcs which have attacked the gatehouse--and it appears as though the flow of troops is increasing. From time to time, dense packs of orcs rush along the wall to the gatehouse. Most of these are shot down by Capt. Tarin's archers, but some few reach the gatehouse doors. Grackle volunteers to go to the wall level of the gatehouse to help hold the doors against such rushes. Inside the gatehouse, the Black Lions have set up a squad of men at each door. The doors are left ajar, and two swordsmen wait just inside. Two spearmen stand just behind them. As Grackle watches, an orog bursts through. He is immediately met by a hail of blows and collapses. One of the soldiers rolls the body out the door with his spear, and another eases the door back to its slightly ajar position. Grackle: Hmm, looks like they have it under control. The lead elements of the Black Lions arrive at the gate. Tarin orders his gatehouse archers to establish a kill zone in the inner city just inside the gate. Immediately, a few hundred Black Lions pour through the gate and begin establishing a perimeter near the gatehouse. Small fire teams (10 or so) break off and go door-to-door securing buildings. The trolls and giants charge the expanding Black Lion perimeter. Two Fireballs explode in the mass of trolls and five Flaming Spheres begin rolling through them as well. The lead elements of the Black Lions, led by Hagal himself, set themselves for battle with the war trolls and giants. Donner surveys the situation back outside the walls. It appears as though the Aquitanian troops are dealing out approximately three times the casualties they are taking, but small pockets are beginning to rout under the pressure. The plan is for the main force to approach once the walls are secured, so they can get friendly covering fire rather than enemy harassing fire. Donner: How soon are you going to send the signal? Capt. Tarin: Within five minutes. Our troops are beginning to secure the walls now. Black Lion Messenger: Your Highness, have you sustained any casualties? Donner: Uh, no. Black Lion Messenger: Commander Hagal was worried because we saw no commotion going on around the inner keep. Donner: Do you need any help along the perimeter? Black Lion Messenger: Well, we could definitely use help, but we dare not approach within 200 feet of the keep until we get the all-clear from your team. We were sort of counting on you to spy out or pacify the keep. Donner continues to watch the combat. The Black Lions appear to have the perimeter held against the war trolls and giants. Donner sees the signal given to the rest of the army. The group begins making plans to head towards the inner keep. It appears as though some of the Aquitanian troops are having morale problems with the retreat to the inner city (Donner's tactical roll: "2"). Donner grabs Ander, Colin, and Travian to help him rally the forces in the outer part of the city. They unfurl the flying carpet and fly out to the Aquitanian lines. Donner orders Travian to help the troops and Colin to organize the knights. As the members of the party are dropped off, they begin organizing the troops. (Donner's Rally Roll=2+1) After dropping off Colin and Travian, Donner attempts to organize the bulk of the retreat. He issues several orders, but the troops there don't appear to be rallying effectively. (Colin's Rally Roll=20+2) The cavalry are split into two groups, one covering the downhill flank and one covering the uphill flank. Upon Colin's appearance, the downhill knights immediately form up and begin aggressively tearing up the orcs harassing their troops. The heavy lancers make one very visible charge, which helps the morale of nearby Aquitanian troops. As Colin moves to the uphill side, he sees that his squire, "The Ox", is "borrowing" Colin's horse and weapons. He's doing well, so Colin just claps him on the back and encourages him. The uphill flank, facing less opposition, detaches a unit to clear some orcish skirmishers away from the Aquitanian rear guard. The relief is welcome, and the Aquitanian archers rally. Colin: (Surveys situation) Well, things seem in order here. Where's Donner? Knight: (Glances over to where the troops are disorganized) I think he's over there. (Travian's Rally Roll=14+7) Meanwhile, Travian wades into battle alongside the front-line troops. His holy aura protects the troops near him while his magical blade flashes through orc after orc. After a few rounds of combat, the troops see the dancing sword (many exclaim "The legends are true!"). With renewed confidence, the Aquitanian troops redouble their efforts and close ranks, breaking the back of this latest orcish assault. In short order, it appears that the retreat is doing well. Over the course of the rallying effort, Travian has fought 30 orcs and taken some damage. After the retreat is brought to order, Donner gathers up the party members and heads back to the gatehouse. In the meantime, the group left back at the gatehouse makes a plan to scout out the inner keep. Donner sends Kieran, Grackle, Travian, and Colin on the carpet to scout out the area. The walls of the inner keep appear to be magically trapped. While there, the group sees two giants enter the keep, fleeing the battle in the inner city. The plan is to approach invisibly. Kieran will swap into Kill'Dar's body and cast Dispel on the wall. If the trap is dispelled effectively, the group will close in. Otherwise, Kieran will trigger the trap. Donner volunteers to Levitate and hold onto the hem of the flying carpet. Kieran casts Dispel on the wall (Roll: 18). As the group closes, it appears that the bottom part of the wall is still trapped. So, Kieran stands on the leading edge of the carpet going over the glyphs. The moment he crosses the trap, a giant column of flame builds up and hits him. Combat ensues. Round 1: Two huge, roaring whirlwinds, approximately 60 feet high, envelop the party. Most of the party identifies the creatures as air elementals. Matt: Holy shit! Aw, man, I've been telling John all WEEK that they weren't really air elementals. I was like, &quotKyle wouldn't be THAT cruel." GM: (shrugs, starts rolling damage dice) Donner is swept away from the carpet by the howling winds, and is pummeled against the wall of the keep. Donner's Levitation is still functioning, so he does not fall, but his control over his flight path is, well, limited. The rest of the party manages to hold on to their flying devices, but they take damage from the buffeting winds. Grackle and company are buffeted away from the wall, while Kill'Dar and Ander manage to make their way over the wall of the keep and land just behind the ramshackle structure (the one built on the site of the former Zeus temple). Round 2: At the beginning of the round, one of the whirlwinds subsides. Travian is hit by an air elemental which is apparently in pursuit of the flying carpet and its passengers. Inside the keep, Ander and Kill'Dar are buffeted strongly by several more air elementals. Ander: Have you got a weapon capable of damaging these creatures? Kill'Dar: Yes. Ander: Tell me which one it is so that I can take it from your dead body. Kill'Dar: (Glares at Ander) Hang on, I've got another idea. Kill'Dar hands Ander a magically sharpened sword. He then tries to use the Dispel Evil power in the Ring of the Silverveils on one of the elementals, but fails to touch the creature. Ander and Kill'Dar are now being attacked by four air elementals. Meanwhile, back on the carpet, Travian hits his elemental. Colin draws Fulchar. Colin: (to Fulchar) Can you do anything to these? Fulchar: These? Pah, they are weak. I can destroy them. Colin: Great! Uh, how, exactly? Fulchar: (with gleeful malice) I'll burrrn em down. Colin: (Looks at Donner slamming into the wall like a ping pong ball in spin cycle) Wellll...okay, do it. Fulchar: (Flame Strike) Donner is burned pretty seriously and the Bracers of Defense are destroyed. In the meantime, Donner draws his magical sword and magical dagger and hits the elmental, killing it. The whirlwind subsides, but not before Donner is blown up and over the wall of the keep on a steadily rising trajectory towards the front gate, trailing smoke. Round 3: Kieran activates the Runestone of True Seeing. Colin talks to Fulchar for a while, but manages to convince the sword not to burn anything this round. Instead, Colin swings and damages the elemental. Kill'Dar manages to touch the first one, but cannot tell if the dispel is successful. Travian swings at the elemental attacking him. Ander hits the elemental again, in the meantime taking damage. Grackle directs the carpet towards the Prince and grabs him. Round 4: Kieran magic missiles the one in the air and Colin swings several times and kills it. On the ground, Kill'Dar touches another one, dispelling it. Ander attacks and hits one of the elementals attacking him. Grackle lands the carpet and Donner hits an elemental, killing another one. Round 5: As the carpet group lands, Colin attacks the remaining air elemental, killing it. The party begins looking around. Kieran sees no traps along the wall. Grackle skulks around the corner and sees a large mass of orcs, trolls, and giants coming around the corner. He warns the group. Round 6: Kieran runs over and heals Donner. Grackle: (Looking at the several orogs, two trolls, and two ettins charging down the alleyway) I don't think I should handle this. Colin: (Steps into the corridor) Grackle: That will do. The orogs appears to be wearing half-plate with the emblem of the Twisted Eye clan scrawled upon it. Colin injures the first orog as they run up. In the meantime, Travian moves to the alleyway on the other side of the ramshackle building, and sees just two orogs. But they appear to be extremely confident and well-equipped. One is in half-plate, wields a two-handed sword and wears a holy symbol -- the all-seeing eye of Gruumsh. The other wears full plate armor with visored helm and carries a vicious-looking two-handed axe. Both have the twisted eye symbol enameled onto their breastplates, much like nobility. Ander runs around the corner to help Travian. As combat continues, Travian and Ander notice that the orog in half-plate with open helm appears to be not entirely orcish. They also notice that these two deliver and can take a tremendous amount of damage...these are not ordinary orogs! Round 7: Kieran runs over and tries holding the two facing Ander and Travian, but to no avail. In the other corridor Colin slays one more orog. Travian attacks the axe-wielding warrior again, wounding him. In the meantime, Ander and Travian are badly wounded by the two warriors they face. In particular, Travian's foe has an axe which seems to cause Travian extra pain. Ander attacks and hits once more. Kieran is struck by a bolt of acid, but did not see where it came from. Round 8: Kieran heals Travian. Travian backs up five feet and the orog follows, and Travian deals out a fair amount of damage. Travian swings and hit twice this round. Ander and Travian get hit, but manage to stay up. Kill'Dar refreshes his Improved Invisibility. Ander fails a Will save and falls clutching at his throat. As Colin runs over to help Travian and Ander, he gets hit by a poisoned arrow from an unseen archer. Kill'Dar flies up and casts Phantasmal Killer on the orog facing Travian. Donner comes up behind Grackle and casts Lightning Bolt behind the orogs facing Grackle. Round 9: Kieran continues to heal Travian. Colin runs up and attacks one of the orogs, but misses. Travian hits the orog again, but he remains standing. The orog facing Ander hits him twice, killing him. Suddenly, Webs appear around Donner and Grackle, trapping Donner but failing to stick to Grackle due to his Ring of Free Action. A war troll comes tearing through the webs, tossing an orog aside, to reach Grackle. Kill'Dar casts Magic Missile on the orog facing Travian. Grackle passes Donner the Ring of Wraithform. Donner takes the ring and activates it. Round 10: Kieran heals Travian again. Colin and Travian's sword both swing at the axe guy and each hit once, knocking him unconscious. The remaining orog steps back and lays hands on the unconscious orc, getting him back up. Kieran gets hit by an arrow, and spots the shooter -- a figure hiding in shadows with a crossbow. At that moment, a Lightning Bolt shoots through the party bouncing through the party and affecting the two orogs. Several more items get destroyed, including Colin's armor, Kill'Dar's Corsican Helm, and Travian's bedroll. Kill'Dar casts Lightning Bolt behind the party, catching one of the orogs. Kill'Dar's Phantasmal Killer misses again. Grackle attacks the War Troll, wounding it twice. Donner moves away and begins levitating up. Round 11: Kieran moves out of the way and grabs the flying carpet and begins rolling it up. Colin hits the recently unconscious orog and knocks him unconscious again, and hits the other orog once. Travian's sword moves up to the next orog and hits him twice, knocking him unconscious. Grackle shouts out "Don't worry about me! I'll get myself out!" turns into a mouse and scurries away. Donner runs towards the carpet. Round 12: Kieran unrolls the carpet. Colin steps back and activates the Wall of Fire, cutting off the orogs and setting the roof on fire. Travian uses the Dancing Sword to finish off one of the orogs while he takes out the other unconscious orog, cutting off the head and taking it. The crossbow-packing assassin moves out of the shadows to strike at Donner with a wicked-looking long fighting knife dripping with an oily substance. Donner spots him coming and is saved by his Stoneskin. Grackle turns into a spider and crawls off. Kill'Dar casts Magic Missile at the assassin, wounding him. Donner attacks and hits twice, wounding the assassin further. Round 13: Kieran gets on the carpet and casts Levitate on Ander's body. Colin grabs Ander's floating body and gets on the carpet. Travian considers grabbing the evil axe, but instead grabs Ander's sword and his helm and gets on the carpet. Colin has a conversation with Fulchar: Colin: So, Fulchar, what can you do? Fulchar: Lots of things. Can I burn things? Colin: (Tries spotting Grackle) In a sec. Fulchar: Do you smell oil? I smell oil. Colin: The assassin begins climbing the wall to escape, and Donner manages to wound him a bit more. As the assassin gets halfway up the wall, he suddenly vanishes. A giant and the war troll tear apart the remainder of the web. Kill'Dar mounts his magical bug, gains some altitude and heals the bug (which had been badly wounded by an earlier lightning blast and wind buffeting). Grackle makes his way towards the axe. Donner climbs on the carpet, casts ESP and finds the thief. Thief: Damn, they got both of them. I can't believe it. I'll have to go out into the city and see how the army is doing. Damn, they got here fast. Who are these guys? Donner also gets some names: Narg and Borshar (which he believes are the two names of the big dead orogs). He also has surface thoughts of gratitude towards someone named Zylan. Round 14: Kieran flies the group away on the carpet. As they fly away... Colin: (To Fulchar) Burn the palace. Fulchar: Really? Excellent. A giant wall of fire goes down the length of the manor, which quickly ignites the roof. Travian hangs on to the severed head, but holds it away so as not to drip blood on the carpet. As Colin and Kieran look back, there looks to be a figure in ornate gold and black robes hovering above the ramshackle building which then swoops down into the courtyard. Presumably, this is the mage who cast Lightning Bolt earlier. With Grackle remaining behind, the war trolls and orogs stream into the area looking for something to fight--they appear surprised to find no one. One giant looks up and grabs a boulder. Donner gets more thoughts from the thief: "Now I know them. We'll find them again." He also gets a sense of identity, thinking of itself as Gribnak. As the group heads back towards the gatehouse, they observe the current battle. Back at the inner keep, the Wall of Fire explodes in a huge burst of flame, spreading the blaze to most of the roofs in the keep. It appears as though the Black Lions are gaining ground inside the inner city. The back end of the army has reached the gatehouse and are entering the inner city. Grackle crawls over to the axe, turns into a giant eagle, and flies out of the keep. The nearby war troll swings, but misses. Reports from the front lines indicate that the Black Lions have killed all the War Trolls and most of the giants in the fight for the inner city. The general battle appears to be very bloody, with many casualties on both sides. Kill'Dar observes the activity below but doesn't see any opportunities. He contemplates several actions, circles the keep, but decides to meet up with the party at the gatehouse. Colin: So, does anyone have any armor? Donner: (Surveying the carnage) I think we'll be able to find an extra suit for you. The party contemplates the foes faced in the inner keep. There were at least two giants, two war trolls, six air elementals, four members of a character party and twenty or so orogs. Reviewing the battle, the two warriors, the air elementals, and several orogs were slain. When the group gets back, Fingle tells the group that he's used his two Haste spells and his Phantasmal Force spell in aiding the Black Lions. Foes Fought Base Experience: